BY GEORGE ORAEKI
Secretary to the government of the Federation Senator George Akume have called on Nigerian religions leaders on the sustainable management of the Nigeria’s resources be it solid minerals, oil and gas, forestry e.t.c Warning that the continued depletion of these resources threatens our environment and ecosystem thereby breeding untold insecurity.
Senator George Akume who made the call during the fourth quarterly meeting of the Nigeria inter-religious council meeting(NIREC) held on Tuesday the 3rd December 2024 in Abuja with the theme “ Our Natural resources and insecurity in Nigeria” brought together key figures in Nigeria.
The SGF called for stronger institution policy reform and increased transparency in resource management to curb illegal activities such as bunkering and banditry, particularly in the Niger delta and Northern regions.
He stated, “let us reflect on the critical importance of sustainable management of our Natural resources, including oil, natural gas and solid minerals.
“The continued depletion of these resources not only threaten our environment but also exacerbate social and economic insecurities”.
“I Implore us to implement stable policies, structural changes and effective governance that can help address bunkering in the mineral- rich northern state of Nigeria”.
“Establishing clear policies for resources management and consistent policies across administration can streamline efforts to secure resources establish clear right and responsibilities and discourage opportunistic exploitation of minerals”.
“Community focused policies that involve local stakeholders in development plan and profit sharing can discourage illegal bunkering by creating vested interests in legal resource management”.
Meanwhile the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Archbishop Daniel Okoh and the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III have called on the federal government to ensure the effective management of the natural resources in the country in order to turn it from being a curse that breed insecurity to blessing.
The duo who are the co-chairman of the Nigeria inter-religious council (NIREC) noted that curbing the growing insecurity linked to the exploration of oil and gas and solid mineral is pertinent to achieving sustainable growth and stability.
The sultan of Sokoto in his address appealed to Nigerians to keep faith and persevere through the current challenges, emphasizing the importance of moral integrity and self-improvement.
The CAN president Archbishop Okoh on his part, noted that while Nigeria is blessed with natural resources mismanagement and greed have turned these resources into sources of confect.
He highlighted the role of religions leaders in promoting peace, justice and
accountability and urged the government to prosecute those behind the criminal exploitation of Nigeria resources.
The CAN president further called for greater efforts to establish good governance by ensuring that the benefit of natural resources are equitably distributed among all Nigerians.
“These resources have the potentials to serve as a powerful engine for our national development creating jobs alleviating poverty and improving the quality of life for all Nigerians”.
“However the reality we face is different instead of being a blessing our natural resources have in many instances become a source of conflict and insecurity.
IN HIS INTRODUCTORY REMARKS the Executive Secretary of NIREC FR. CORNELIUS AFEBU OMONOKHUA STATED.
I would like to welcome you to this fourth quarter meeting of NIREC, 2024 which is the last meeting for the year, 2024. Every Tuesday at 8.30pm, we engage the public in dialogue through NIREC PUBLIC WEBINAR. In the year, 2024, we have had 34 webinars. At the 30th WEBINAR, we discussed the topic: OUR TREASURES AND OUR PAINS IN NIGERIA. The presenters at this conversation were Alhaji Said Takuma and Innocent Ononugbo. From the presenters and reactions from the public, we discovered that Nigeria is richly blessed with natural and human resources. Unfortunately, these treasures instead of being a blessing to the nation has been a source of pain that is caused by various forms of insecurity.
In the Southern part of Nigeria, palm oil and crude oil appears to be manipulated by foreign powers to the extent the inhabitant of the Niger-Delta wished that they never had oil because of the disaster the oil exploration has cause to their waters for fishing and land for farming. This pain could be traced to the 18th century. Sir George Goldie set up the United African Company in 1879, which was then changed to the national African Company. He structured the palm oil business in the Niger Delta region, and by 1884, he had a monopoly that the British could exploit.
In 1886, Goldie violated the agreement he had made with the chiefs and moved his operations into River Niger and Benue. The company was also renamed at this point to Royal Niger Company. Goldie tricked the chiefs into signing unfair trade deals, giving Goldie exclusive rights to export palm oil instead of what the chiefs thought would be free trade. Crude oil became a monopoly of national source of economy to a point that the greed to have access to oil wealth gave rise to the Niger-Delta militia and kidnapping of both foreign nationals and indigenous citizens of Nigeria.
In the Northern part of Nigeria, one would have expected serious development with solid minerals and agriculture. Today, the Northern farmers are afraid to go to farm in a region that once produced the groundnut pyramid. Zamfara is supposed to be a land of religious purity that is guided by religious laws and ethics. Unfortunately, the alleged discovery of gold has turned the land into a home of banditry. The entire nation has become so insecure that banditry has become a lucrative business even for some traditional rulers and security agents. NIREC wish to have a deeper conversation regarding this mixture of treasure and pain, a paradox that is akin to the music of Bob Marley, namely, IN THE ABUNDANCE OF WATER, THE FOOLS ARE THIRSTING. Yes, at this last meeting of NIREC, 2024, we have chosen for our theme, “OUR NATURAL RESOURCES AND INSECURITY IN NIGERIA”.
We have requested our sisters, Dame Comfort Otera Chigbue Esq, JP and Hajia Aisha Muhammad Ismail to lead us in this conversation. It is my prayer that no body would kill us for what rightfully belong to us. May we be blessed with the prudence to manage our resources in a way that all forms of corruption, kidnapping, banditry, bunkering, ritual killing and terrorism would be replaced with valuable policies to manage our human and natural resources. May we have the courage for mental re-engineering, change of values and change of attitude. INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY: A CALL TO ACTION FOR NIGERIA